Police chief recommends Iowa City's Summit bar lose license

Another downtown Iowa City bar is in trouble with the city for having too many underage patrons cited by police for possession of alcohol.

Police Chief Sam Hargadine is recommending the City Council deny the liquor license renewal of the Summit Restaurant & Bar, 10 S. Clinton St.

Under a council policy approved earlier this year, Hargadine is required to recommend the denial of a liquor license for any establishment with a rate of underage patrons ticketed for possessing alcohol greater than 1.0 per officer visit. The citation is commonly called a PAULA, for possession of alcohol under the legal age.

For the past year, the Summit had a PAULA rate greater than 1.9, the highest in the city.

The council is scheduled to vote on the recommendation at its meeting Tuesday. A denial of a liquor license can be appealed to the state, during which time an establishment can remain open.

Summit owner Mike Porter, who owns three other downtown businesses, said the council's policy was “illegal” and “unconstitutional.”

“If they choose not to renew my license, they are inflicting monetary damages onto us and we will seek to recover them,” he said.

He declined to say whether he would challenge a denial beyond an appeal to the state and also said he could not comment at this time on what about the city's policy he considers illegal.

The council has beefed up its efforts this year to combat perceived underage and binge drinking problems in this college town, with tougher liquor license regulations being part of that.

In July, the council voted to deny liquor licenses to two other downtown bars with high PAULA rates: Fieldhouse, 111 E. College St., and Etc., 118 S. Dubuque St.

Owners of those bars have appealed to the state's Alcoholic Beverages Division and are waiting for rulings by an administrative law judge. Those rulings could answer the broader question of whether or not the city's policy is allowable.

In a September PAULA report from the Police Department, seven establishments out of 110 had rates above 1.0.

There sometimes is confusion over the difference between a selling to an underage person violation and a PAULA ticket. In the former, the establishment is cited.

With a PAULA, the individual is cited and it typically means the person was seen by an officer with an alcoholic drink rather than the establishment being caught selling a drink to a minor. PAULAs are much more common.